The England team celebrated after winning the first Test against India at Lord’s, Monday.

India–the world’s top-ranked Test team–was second best throughout this hotly anticipated match. Rahul Dravid’s century in the first innings and a lethal spell of bowling Sunday by Ishant Sharma were two rare highlights but India looked undercooked and tired.

Sharma admitted as much, saying fatigue got the better of him after lunch Sunday. This was the time when India needed him most, for he had just decimated England’s top order with a spell of 3 for 1 in 16 balls.

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“I am a human being and I have a body,” the Associated Press quoted the 22-year-old bowler as saying. “It’s not that easy to come on and bowl another long spell.”

Where’s the Indian team’s fitness coach? And its backbone installer?

If India falls short in the upcoming Tests, questions will be asked about the players’ busy schedule, which features a seemingly endless run of tours with the national team and long tournaments such as the Indian Premier League. Key players like Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan missed the recent series in the West Indies, choosing instead to take a break before the more challenging series in England.

The rest didn’t help either of them. After a fruitful spell on the first day of the Test, Zaheer limped off with a hamstring injury, while Tendulkar—who was aiming for his first Test century at Lord’s—had a match to forget after being sidelined by a virus mid-way through and never fully recovering.

India traditionally starts Test series slowly, and former captain Sourav Ganguly said he was confident the team would come back much stronger in the rest of the four-match series. That may be the case, but given the resources at India’s disposal, it’s hard to excuse them for turning up in England underprepared.

But take nothing away from England. The hosts were the better team at Lord’s. Unlike some England sides of yesteryear, this current crop has great strength in depth and abundant riches in talent.

“It was an outstanding Test match and an outstanding performance,” England’s captain Andrew Strauss said after the match.

James Anderson took five wickets for 65 runs in the second innings, helping England seal a 196-run victory. Once again, the bowler got the better of Tendulkar–it was the sixth time he has claimed the Little Master’s scalp—and he took the key wickets of Dravid, as well as V.V.S. Laxman and Suresh Raina, who had both given India hope of a draw with their battling half centuries.

The English trio of Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad were the stand-out performers in the Test, the 2,000th ever. Pietersen won man-of-the-match for his first innings score of 202 not out. This magnificent innings in difficult conditions ensured that India was under pressure from the outset.

Prior added momentum to the first innings with his quick-fire 71, which gave Pietersen valuable support. Prior then eclipsed that score with a second innings knock of 103 not out, his third Lord’s century. The English wicket-keeper was unlucky not to get the man-of-the-match award as that second innings, in a partnership with Broad, wrestled control of the match back into England’s hands just as India was threatening to ruin the party. Prior also took five catches in the match.

Prior is being widely praised—at least among English commentators–as the best wicket-keeper in Test cricket. It’s hard to disagree. Indian captain M.S. Dhoni is a brilliant cricketer but his achievements in Tests don’t match those in One-Day Internationals, bowling skills notwithstanding.

Dhoni has a big job to do now. India was unlucky to lose Zaheer at Lord’s, as well as briefly Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar, but the tourists will need to show a lot more fight in the upcoming Tests if they are to retain their spot as the world’s No.1 team.

What is certain: this series will be as eagerly watched as any other. It ranks up there with the Ashes in the eyes of English players and fans. They respect this Indian team but are rightly confident they can emerge from the series victorious.

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